Landmarks Board Endorses Mounds Heritage Trail Route

April 18, 2008

At its meeting on April 17, 2008, the Board of Directors of Landmarks Association passed the following resolution in support of the Mounds Heritage Trail Route:

WHEREAS, the Mounds Heritage Trail Route is an opportunity to link Cahokia Mounds (a World Heritage Site) to the Big Mound Marker in Old North St. Louis (the Murphy-Blair National Historic District), along the historic National Road in Illinois (a National Scenic Byway) over the Eads Bridge (a National Historic Landmark) and through Laclede's Landing (a National Historic District) on the Missouri Riverfront; and

WHEREAS, the Mounds Heritage Trail Route will provide opportunities to make connections to the regional trails system in both Illinois and Missouri to link historic sites and points of interest in communities along the route and in the region; and

WHEREAS, the Mounds Heritage Trail Route will link and interpret archeological sites along the corridor between Cahokia Mounds and Old North St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, interpretive displays and kiosks can be placed along the route to interpret the region as a whole and its development over time; and

WHEREAS, the Mounds Heritage Trail Route will provide opportunities for tourism and economic development, and improving the quality of life of residents of the community; and

WHEREAS, the Mounds Heritage Trail Route will offer opportunities to protect, enhance and interpret the natural environment along the corridor; and

WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation and Development, Inc., Confluence Greenway and the University of Illinois - East St. Louis Action Research Project and others have partnered together to develop the alignment for the Mounds Heritage Trail Route;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Inc. is supportive of efforts to create the Mounds Heritage Trail Route, and will assist the partnership in efforts directed towards implementing various components of the Mounds Heritage Trail.